the goal of the obama administration, i think the goal of the international community, is to affect some kind of orderly transition. now, it's complicated by the fact that now a second envoy has been engaged after kofi annan's efforts, and both have found an intransigence on the part of the opposition to be willing to negotiate a departure. the russians have indicated, and i've had personal associations, which indicated a russian willingness to in fact see president assaad lead but they have a different sense of the timing and manner of that. our hope, my hope, would be that if confirmed and when i get in there, to have an ability to really take the temperature of these different players and get a sense of sort of where it is. we have to increase, i think, the ability of the opposition -- strike that. we have to increase the readiness of president assaad to see the die is cast, the handwriting is on the wall, and be willing to make the judgment that will save lives and hold the state together in a transition. >> thank you. if i might, in closing, it's my view that these admirable diploma